Blindness
by Gozilla
Summary: (Sequel to Dragon of Fire and Ice) In an assassination against Mukuro, Hiei saved the Makai warlord but injured himself. The injury was much more serious than it looked and Hiei was blinded and dying for some unknown reason. Could the others save him be
1. Default Chapter

Blindness  
  
By Gozilla  
  
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This is the sequel of my previous Yu Yu fics "Burden of Sin" and "Dragon of Fire and Ice". If you haven't read the two stories, I would recommend you to read them first, though not necessary. ^-^  
  
Just a hint of the background for those who haven't read the previous two fics. In this story, Yukina knew Hiei was her twin brother. Also, Hiei had his own Reikai beast, Blackie, a small dragon with black and white strip pattern over its body and with the power of fire and ice.  
  
OK, enough talking. Please enjoy the story! ^-^  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything (except for the cute little Blackie, please don't take it away from me) and I don't have anything. So don't sue me!!  
  
Please excuse my poor English!  
  
Enjoy!  
  
Reviews are welcomed!  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"crap" - conversation  
  
*crap* - thoughts  
  
(crap) - author's note  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Chapter 1 : Assassination  
  
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~Somewhere in Makai~  
  
An insect-like vehicle sped across the open plain in Makai, creating a huge dust cloud behind it.  
  
A small figure dressed in black sat comfortably near the front tip of the vehicle, his eyes closed as if he was sleeping.  
  
A wolf demon kneeled beside the small figure, shouting against the strong wind, "Captain Hiei, we found no trace of any ningen intrusion today. It has been ten days since the patrol started and it is about time for us to return to the base. Please give your order."  
  
Hiei slowly opened his crimson eyes, looking at the scene in front of him, "Hn. Let's return."  
  
"Yes, Captain." the wolf demon replied and walked towards the pilot room of the vehicle.  
  
Instinctively, the fire demon reached for the two tear gems attached to the necklaces hanging around his neck. He took them out of his cloak and looked at them. The two gems, one from his mother and the other from his sister, shone gently under the Makai sun.  
  
It had been two years since the fight with the water demon Akana. Hiei, once again, returned to his job in patrolling Makai, making sure that no ningen was strayed into the demon world.  
  
He visited the Ningenkai occasionally to see his twin sister, Yukina, and his dragon, Blackie, which lived with Yukina and watched over her for him. However, he spent most of the time in Makai, more specifically, with Mukuro.  
  
Over the last two years, Hiei felt more and more comfortable with the presence of Mukuro. Though he would never admit it, her presence gave him a feeling of belonging and peacefulness, a feeling very similar to what he could feel when he looks at his mother's tear gem.  
  
He looked at the tear gems for a while before putting them back behind his cloak. He stood and untied the bandana around his forehead, revealing his jagan. The fire demon closed his eyes and concentrated on the jagan, which started glowing with purple light, searching.  
  
Suddenly, something not far away caught his attention, it was a flash of blue light. The fire demon got up and disappeared from the speeding vehicle in a blur of black.  
  
A black shadow stopped in front of a dark cave. The fire demon surveyed the area and went inside the cave, with his jagan glowing in purple light.  
  
Deep inside the dimmed wet cave, Hiei found the source of the light. It was a small, coarse, but beautiful blue crystal, half revealed from the dirt of the ground due to a recent collapse of the cave wall. The fire demon dug it out and looked at it for a while before disappearing from the spot.  
  
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~6 hours later~  
  
~Inside Mukuro's mobile castle~  
  
Mukuro walked silently along the corridor. She had just finished a meeting with Enki (A/N: Did I spell it right?), the current official ruler of Makai, and Yumi, one of the three former warlords of Makai.  
  
Although after the Makai tournament, Enki was appointed the ruler of Makai, he relied a lot on Mukuro and Yumi, who remained the most influential demons in Makai, to run the demon world and to keep things in order.  
  
Mukuro didn't mind the job as, after meeting the young fire demon, she had lost almost all her monstrous desire to kill. She was actually a bit happy to have something to do to kill time without much hassle.  
  
Mukuro went into her room. Immediately she noticed a small pack placed on the table in front of her bed. She approached the pack carefully and smiled as she saw it more clearly.  
  
It was a small bag made of some black fabric with something of the size of a ping-pong ball inside. It was not the first time she received such a surprise pack without a note or letter from the sender.  
  
Mukuro gently opened the bag and found a clean coarse blue crystal inside it. The crystal shone with gentle waves of blue light. She smiled as she felt her heart warmed by the cold beautiful blue colour of the crystal, or more precisely, the heart hidden behind the cold mask of the sender, a young fire demon.  
  
She took the blue crystal and walked towards her bed. She opened the drawer closest to her bed. There were already a few items inside it: the horn of a Makai unicorn, a piece of raw crimson-gold nugget, a crystal- clear fang of a Makai shadow lion, and a few other rare and valuable items. She put the blue crystal inside the drawer and looked at it for a while before closing the drawer.  
  
"Servant!" Mukuro shouted.  
  
"Yes, my lord." an eagle demon opened the door and kneeled outside of the room. The eagle demon did not dare to lay a foot in the warlord's room as no one was allowed to enter Mukuro's room without her permission. (A/N: except one special fire demon, of course. ^-^)  
  
"Go and tell Hiei that he is invited to have dinner with me tonight." Mukuro said before waving her hand at the eagle demon, indicating his dismissal.  
  
"I understand, my lord. Please excuse me." the eagle demon said as he closed the door. Once the door was closed, a wave of nervousness flashed across the eagle demon's eyes. "This is unexpected... but it should be alright. I will accomplish the mission. It should be alright..." the eagle demon murmured as he disappeared into a dark corner of the corridor.  
  
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~Night time~  
  
~Inside the dining room of the mobile castle~  
  
Mukuro sat at one end of a huge dining table, reading through documents regarding an intelligence report regarding the far west part of Makai. She raised her head as she sensed the approach of a familiar ki.  
  
"You should not bring work to the dining table." came a deep voice.  
  
"You are late." said the warlord, smiling and without a trace of real annoyance.  
  
"Hn." Hiei replied, sitting at the opposite side of the table.  
  
"Let's start." Mukuro said, "I am starving." as she snapped her fingers.  
  
"Yes, my lord." the eagle demon said as he bowed to the warlord and left the dining room.  
  
"So, what's new?" the fire demon asked.  
  
Mukuro threw a piece of paper towards Hiei, which landed right in front of him.  
  
Hiei picked up the paper and read through it. He frowned slightly as he read on, "Hirota? I heard of this name quite a long time ago. The rumours said that he is the 'fourth' warlord in Makai after you, Yumi and Raizen."  
  
"Yes." Mukuro said, "Hirota, the lord of shadow. About 800 years ago, the four of us fought for the rights to control Makai. He was the weakest among us and lost his share of control over the demon world. Since then, he stayed in the far west part of Makai, a remote area in the border of the areas controlled by Yumi and myself."  
  
Interested, Hiei listened carefully to the warlord, imagining how destructive were the fights between these extremely powerful demons.  
  
Mukuro continued, "Hirota has been very active since the death of Raizen. It seems that he wants to take back his share, or even more, to control the whole Makai. There are reports that there are minor rebellions and abnormal military activities in the far west. Intelligence said that there will be a major rebellion in the next few days. That's why Enki has assigned me to form a team to investigate Hirota to see if he is behind all these abnormal activities and to stop him before anything serious happens."  
  
"Sounds boring." the fire demon put down the paper, "Have you decided the members of the investigation team?"  
  
Knowing the fire demon well, Mukuro interpreted the question as, 'I am interested. Can I join?'. She smiled and asked, "Not yet. But I think you could be a very good candidate. Interested?"  
  
"Hn." was the reply.  
  
"I take it as a 'yes'. I am planning to get Raizen's son in the team as well. And we have to act quickly before the rebellion starts." Mukuro said before stopping the conversation on the topic as the eagle demon returned and a servant started bringing food to the dining room.  
  
The eagle demon signalled the servant to bring the food to Mukuro. The eagle demon took a bottle of pepper and walked towards the warlord.  
  
The servant brought the plate covered by a silver cover and placed it in front of the warlord. He lifted the cover. There was no food on the plate, but a silver dagger.  
  
"What the..." Mukuro could not finish the sentence as the eagle demon threw a cloud of pepper at her face. She could not open her eyes and choked on the pepper. Instinctively, she jumped away from the attackers.  
  
"K'so!" Hiei cursed as he threw a fireball at the servant standing next to Mukuro, turning him into a pile of ashes instantly.  
  
The eagle demon took the silver dagger and threw it towards heart of the temporarily blinded warlord.  
  
The fire demon leapt towards Mukuro at his maximum speed. As he did not bring his sword with him (A/N: who would bring a sword to your boss' dinner? ^-^), he used his arm to shield the dagger from the warlord. The silver dagger sunk deep into his left forearm.  
  
Knowing the mission had failed, the eagle demon transformed himself to a large eagle and fled the scene.  
  
"Damn!" Hiei cursed, hesitated to leave the temporary blinded warlord alone, he handed a bowl of clean water to Mukuro to wash away the pepper in her eyes.  
  
As Mukuro slowly regain her sight ability, she gasped as she saw Hiei pulled the silver dagger from his forearm and blood started pouring from the wound.  
  
"Hiei." said the warlord, concerned.  
  
"I am fine." the fire demon replied as he put bandages around the wound. "Who do you think would send an assassin to kill you?" he asked as he finished wrapping his arm.  
  
Mukuro kept her eyes on the fire demon, "If I am not mistaken, it is Hirota. He has been wanting to get rid of me since centuries ago."  
  
Slowly, she put her hand on the fire demon's damaged arm, carefully not to touch the wound, her voice filled with confusion, "Why did you do that?"  
  
"Do what?" asked the fire demon, confused, but did not reject the gentle touch of Makai most feared warlord.  
  
"Why did you risk your life to save me?" Mukuro asked.  
  
The fire demon looked at the warlord and thought for a while, "I don't know. Maybe I am infected by those stupid ningen detectives." as he looked away, avoiding eye contact.  
  
Mukuro retrieved her hand, having a weird sensation in her heart. Didn't know what it meant and what to do, she walked out of the dining room, "Go and get some rest. We will be leaving for the investigation job tomorrow."  
  
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~Later that night~  
  
~Inside Mukuro's room~  
  
The warlord stared at the ceiling of the room, her mind in a war of confusion.  
  
She couldn't understand the fire demon actions back in the dining room, *Why did he risk his life to save me?* The question rang through her mind over and over again.  
  
She knew that her warriors were loyal to her. They would obey her orders and fought at her commands. But she knew very well that they would not risk their lives to save her.  
  
*What does it mean?* she thought, lost in the question as she slipped into a dreamless sleep.  
  
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~Outside of Hiei's bedroom in the mobile castle~  
  
A small figure tossed and turned on a thick branch of a tree. A burning feeling on his left forearm had prevented the fire demon from getting any sleep.  
  
Annoyed and exhausted, Hiei got up and leapt out of the tree. He went to a stream nearby and started unwrapping the bandages on his left arm. His arm was severely swelled, almost twice its normal size.  
  
The fire demon checked the wound for any sign of poison but he found nothing. *Maybe it just got infected...* he thought as he put his arm into the water. He felt the burning feeling subsided as the cool water surrounded the wound.  
  
Unknowingly, the fire demon slowly slipped into unconsciousness and fell to the ground.  
  
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End of Chapter 1  
  
I hope you enjoyed the chapter!  
  
Please feel free to review and comment! 


	2. Chapter 2 : Something’s very wrong

Blindness  
  
By Gozilla  
  
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Hi there! Thank you so much to all of you who read and/or reviewed the last chapter! Your reviews are my incentive to write! Thank you again! ^- ^  
  
BTW, this is my first attempt on romance (well, only slightly). As I am nowhere near a romantic person myself, please bear with me if it is not successful. ^-^  
  
Just for your information, the pairing for the fic will be Hiei x Mukuro (surprise, surprise...). ^-^  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything (except for the cute little Blackie, please don't take it away from me) and I don't have anything. So don't sue me!!  
  
Please excuse my poor English!  
  
Enjoy!  
  
Reviews are welcomed!  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"crap" - conversation  
  
*crap* - thoughts  
  
(crap) - author's note  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Chapter 2 : Something's very wrong  
  
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~Early the next morning~  
  
~Beside the stream~  
  
The fire demon slowly regained consciousness. Disoriented, he opened his eyes. He found himself lying on the ground, covered with a layer of sweat. His head felt like it was going to split into half.  
  
He pulled his arm out of the water and looked at the wound. The swelling and the burning feeling had been significantly reduced. However, the wound didn't seem to be healing at all, as blood still leaking from it.  
  
The fire demon struggled to get on his feet. He also fell to the ground as a heavy dizziness struck him. Everything seemed blurred. He shook his head to clear his mind and his vision.  
  
Finally, after around 10 minutes or so, Hiei was able to stand up and started walking back to the castle.  
  
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~30 minutes later~  
  
~Inside Mukuro's mobile castle~  
  
Mukuro walked slowly towards Hiei's bedroom, which was located at the end of the corridor. She was worried as she could barely sense the youki of the fire demon.  
  
"Hiei." she knocked on the door, no response. "I am coming in." carefully, she opened the door and entered the room. The room was dark as all the windows were covered by curtains.  
  
It took a while before Mukuro's eyes adjusted to the darkness. Her eyes widened as she saw a small limped figure lying beside the bed, unmoving.  
  
"Hiei!" she ran to the small figure on the floor and held him with her arms.  
  
The fire demon was covered with sweat, his eyes half-opened and out- focused.  
  
"Hiei! Wake up!" Mukuro shouted, with a slight and rare tone of fear in her voice, shaking the fire demon.  
  
The fire demon's eye slowly focused on the face in front of him. "Mukuro?" he murmured as he struggled to sit up. Hiei held a hand onto his head, the headache was getting more and more severe, "What happened?"  
  
The warlord stood and looked at the fire demon, who sat leaning against the side of the bed, "I should be the one asking the question. What is going on? You look terrible."  
  
"I am fine." Hiei lied, "I just fell off the bed."  
  
Mukuro looked at the fire demon, knowing that he was lying. She frowned as she looked at the fire demon's damaged arm, noticing that the wound showed no sign of healing. *This is strange. Hiei is one of the people I know whose body can recover very quickly.* she thought, looking more closely to the wound, *Fortunately there is no sign of poison. But why is he so weak? I have never seen his youki decreasing in such rate.*  
  
The fire demon struggled to stand up, "I will go to the Ningenkai and find Yukina. She will be able to heal the wound." said Hiei, having difficulty to balance with the heavy dizziness and splitting headache in his head.  
  
The warlord caught the fire demon before he fell to the floor, "I am coming with you."  
  
Hiei struggled against Mukuro's hold, "I told you I am fine. I can take care of myself. I don't need anyone to baby-sit me."  
  
"I am not baby-sitting anyone." Mukuro said, determined, "I want to pay a visit to Raizen's descendent, Yusuke. Remember that Genki said that I can ask Yusuke to join the investigation team for his detective expertise. So it is you who are accompanying me to the Ningenkai as a guide."  
  
Unable to argue, Hiei sighed and allowed Mukuro to put his undamaged arm around her shoulder, supporting his balance, and ran to the nearest portal to the Ningenkai.  
  
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~Two hours later~  
  
~Around noon~  
  
~In the front yard of Genkai's temple~  
  
Kurama, Yusuke, Kawabara and Yukina waited anxiously outside of the temple. About half an hour ago, they all sensed the approach of an extremely powerful youkai from one of the portals connected to Makai.  
  
The Reikai Tanteis rushed to gather in Genkai's temple immediately. They later recognised it was one of the warlords of Makai, Mukuro. Under her powerful youki, they also sensed the presence of a weak but familiar youki, their fire demon friend's ki.  
  
From the low level of Hiei's ki, they knew he was probably badly injured. Yukina held Blackie, her twin brother's reikai beast, which was a small dragon with black and white strip pattern over its body, in her arms.  
  
The dragon was not in good shape either, it seemed exhausted and lied still in its half-mistress's arms. Ever since Yukina injected her ice power into the dragon in the fight with the water demon Akana, the dragon had absorbed part of her heart and soul. As a result, she became Blackie's half- mistress. The dragon, in turn, reflected the conditions of both the twins' hearts and souls.  
  
Yukina stroke dragon gently, nervousness built inside her heart as the dragon did not response to her touch, which would normally made it very happy. She knew that, since she had shared her heart and soul in the dragon with her brother, the dragon did not completely reflect the fire demon's conditions, but to a much lesser extent. She knew Hiei was in a much worse condition than the dragon's.  
  
After seemingly a long wait, a tall figure appeared at the front gate of the temple, with a small limped figure hanging beside it.  
  
"Hiei!" "Oniisan!" the group shouted as they rushed towards the two figures. The fire demon was unconscious and did not response to his friends' and his sister's call.  
  
Yukina inspected the wound on her brother's left forearm, which was nasty and still bleeding. Kawabara helped the koorime to bring the fire demon inside the temple for treatment.  
  
Mukuro, Kurama and Yusuke watched the three disappeared behind the door. Kurama turned to the warlord, "What happened?"  
  
Mukuro kept her glaze to the room where the fire demon was, "Someone was trying to assassinate me last night. Hiei blocked the attack and got injured. Somehow the wound did not heal and his conditions worsened dramatically overnight. But I saw no sign of poison. I guess it is due to some kind of infection to the wound."  
  
"Is that so..." Kurama followed the warlord's glaze, a bad feeling lingered his mind.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~30 minutes later~  
  
~Inside the living room of Genkai's temple~  
  
Mukuro, Kurama and Yusuke sat silently on the floor, waiting for the koorime's return.  
  
Kawabara slide opened the door and entered the room, closely followed by the koorime.  
  
"How's he?" Yusuke asked, he frowned as he saw the worried expression on the faces of the orange-hair boy and the koorime.  
  
"I have healed the wound on oniisan's forearm." Yukina replied, tears threatened to escape from her eyes, "But there was no improvement in his condition. He slips in and out of unconsciousness and he is developing a high fever. I need to go and take care of him. Please excuse me." she bowed and left the room.  
  
No word was exchanged. Kawabara sighed and sat beside Yusuke.  
  
"This is unusual." it was Kurama who broke the silence, "This is not the first time Hiei got injured and it does not seem serious to me. How can such a small wound causes such a serious infection?" he turned to look at the warlord.  
  
Yusuke and Kawabara also turned to Mukuro, waiting for any further clues.  
  
Mukuro closed her eyes and sighed, "I have no idea. The only thing I know is that it is very likely that the assassins were sent by Hirota, as he always wanted to get rid of me."  
  
Kurama inhaled deeply at the mention of the name of the lord of fire. The two ningens looked at the youko. "You know the name?" Yusuke asked.  
  
"Yes, I do." Kurama looked to the ground, running through his memories, "Hirota, also known as the lord of shadow. He is the most powerful shadow demon in Makai. He is famous for his brutality. He kills anyone who gets in his way. He is a tyrant, thirty of absolute power over the whole Makai."  
  
Kurama turned to Mukuro, "There were rumours that he was involved in the ultimate battle for the right to rule Makai. He lost the battle and the demon world was then divided among the three warlords, Reizen, Yumi and you, Mukuro, who ended up in a tie in the battle. Hirota disappeared ever since. Some people said he died but others said that he is waiting for a chance to fight back."  
  
"Correct." Mukuro said, "There are reports of minor rebel activities in the far west part of Makai, where Hirota is hiding. Genki suspected that it was him who is behind all these activities and asked me to form an investigation team in this regard. Hiei was on the team list. But it seems that he is in no condition for the mission."  
  
"Yusuke," Mukuro turned to the Reikai detective, "I want you to help me on this case. We need to find out what are his plans and if he is behind the assassination as soon as possible."  
  
"No problem!" Yusuke shouted, jumping to his feet, "I will give this shadow demon a good punch in his face if he is the one responsible for the assassination! Let's don't waste any more time! Let's go!"  
  
Yusuke and Mukuro charged out of the room. The warlord turned and looked at the room where the fire demon was staying before disappearing into the forest with the Reikai detective.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~Around mid-night~  
  
~Inside a room of Genkai's temple~  
  
Yukina wiped the shivering body of the fire demon with a clean cloth and water. The fire demon had developed a dangerously high fever, despite the fact that the wound on his forearm was healed. He panted heavily and moaned as if he was having nightmares.  
  
Worries filled the eyes of the koorime when she left the room for some fresh clean water.  
  
Just as the kooirme left the room, the fire demon slowly opened his eyes. With the moonlight, all he could see was a blur and the twisted image of the ceiling.  
  
*What is going on with me?* he thought before falling back to unconsciousness again, not knowing that it would be the last time he could see light for a long time...  
  
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End of Chapter 2  
  
Hope you enjoyed the chapter!  
  
Please feel free to review and comment! 


	3. Chapter 3 : Blinded

Blindness  
  
By Gozilla  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything (except for the cute little Blackie, please don't take it away from me) and I don't have anything. So don't sue me!!  
  
Please excuse my poor English!  
  
Enjoy!  
  
Reviews are welcomed!  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"crap" - conversation  
  
*crap* - thoughts  
  
(crap) - author's note  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Chapter 3 : Blinded  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~Early next morning~  
  
~Inside a room of Genkai's temple~  
  
The koorime slowly woke up from an unsettled brief sleep on the floor. She had been taking care of her twin brother until around 2 hours ago, when the fire demon's high fever had finally ceased.  
  
Bright sunlight showered the room. The sounds of the birds cheered the koorime. She got up and looked at her sleeping brother, happiness filled her heart as there was no sign of pain or suffering on his face.  
  
She tried to fix the cover on the fire demon before he stirred and woke. His crimson eyes opened and stared straight to the ceiling.  
  
"Oniisan." the koorime greeted the fire demon, "Finally you are awake. It was a horrible night."  
  
"Yukina?" Hiei asked weakly, his eyes still staring straight ahead, "It's so dark here. Why don't you turn on the light or something?"  
  
"What do you mean, oniisan?" Yukina asked playfully, "It's all bright here."  
  
The fire demon did not reply, his heart sank as he realised what happened to him.  
  
"Oniisan?" the koorime asked, worried, "What's going on?" as she waved her hand in front of the fire demon. There was no movement in his eyes, no sign of seeing the hand at all.  
  
"No..." Yukina moaned as she ran out of the room, "Kurama-san! Kawabara- san! Please come! Hurry!"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~Ten minutes later~  
  
Kurama used a small hand torch to test if the fire demon's eyes were responsive to light. He sighed as he found no trace of response from the crimson eyes.  
  
"Hiei," the youko asked, "can you use your jagan? Can you see through the jagan?"  
  
The fire demon shook his head.  
  
"So?" Kawabara asked.  
  
"I think we have to expect the worst." Kurama said sadly, looking at the emotionless face of his best friend, "I am afraid that the high fever last night might have caused some damages to Hiei's sight system."  
  
The fire demon remained silent, unbelieving what was happening.  
  
"Is there anything we can do?" Yukina asked.  
  
Kurama turned and looked at the koorime, shaking his head, "There is nothing we can do at the moment. We can't take him to a doctor in Ningenkai. All we can do is wait for Mukuro and Yusuke to return and see if they knew any way to cure this."  
  
"Oniisan..." said the koorime, holding back tears.  
  
"Please leave." the fire demon whispered, lowering his head, "Please leave me alone."  
  
"But oniisan..." said the koorime before being stopped by Kurama. Knowing his best friend well, he knew the fire demon needed some quiet time to accept the truth. Without a word, he stood and left, with Yukina and Kawabara following, leaving the silent fire demon inside the room.  
  
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~Two days later, Friday evening~  
  
Kurama and Kawabara arrived at Genkai's temple with two huge bags of supplies. They were silent all the way to the temple, wishing a miracle would have happened to the fire demon.  
  
Their hope faded as they saw the sad face of the koorime.  
  
"How's he?" Kurama asked, half-knowing the answer.  
  
"He is very depressed." Yukina answered, "He didn't talk at all. He would only eat and drink when I insist him to do so. I am worried about him."  
  
Kurama sighed, "I hope that Mukuro and Yusuke will return soon. I am sure Mukuro will find a way to cure Hiei's eyes."  
  
Kurama turned to look at the black dragon settled around the koorime's shoulders, "How about Blackie? Is it OK?"  
  
Yukina stroke the dragon, which lied lazily on her shoulders, "Blackie's fine. It seemed that it is not too effected by oniisan's lost of his sight ability. I guess my share of heart and soul is supporting it."  
  
The three walked inside the temple without a further word, their hearts heavy as a lead.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~Around mid-night~  
  
~Inside Hiei's dream~  
  
The fire demon found himself being surrounded and attacked by a group of powerful demons. The demons disappeared and appeared out of thin air, attacking him from all directions.  
  
Suddenly, a sword struck, aimed at his heart. He had no time to react but watched in fear. Out of nowhere, Yukina appeared and blocked the sword in front of him, which sunk deeply into her small body.  
  
Hiei held the bloodied body of his twin sister, unable to make a sound. He watched in horror as a sad smile appeared on her face before she closed her eyes and disappeared in his embrace.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~Same time~  
  
~Inside a room of Genkai's temple~  
  
Hiei shot up from the futon, sweat trailing down his face. He could see nothing but darkness, total darkness.  
  
Realising it was a nightmare, he couldn't stop but shiver, curled tightly into a ball. Not knowing what was more scary, the tragedy in his nightmare, or the total darkness in reality.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~Next morning~  
  
~In the backyard of Genkai's temple~  
  
After much persuasion by Yukina and Kurama, the fire demon had reluctantly agreed to leave his room for the first time since the day he arrived with Mukuro. Though he would never admit it, but the fresh wind and the warmth of the sun made him feel better.  
  
Yukina and Kurama stayed closed to the blinded fire demon, describing the weather and the surroundings in the backyard to him. Their hearts lightened as they saw a faint smile appeared on the pale face of the face demon.  
  
Kurama walked away from the twins and went towards an ancient oak tree in the backyard, Hiei's favourite tree to sit and look over his twin sister before Yukina knew the fire demon was her long-lost brother, telling stories about how Hiei hid behind the trees and stayed undetected by the koorime.  
  
As Hiei tried to stop the fox demon from telling anything embarrassing, both he and Kurama sensed the approach of uninvited demons. A shower of arrows suddenly shot towards the twins from the shade of the bush.  
  
Being too far away from the twins, Kurama could do nothing but shouted, "Run!"  
  
Unable to see the arrows, the fire demon hesitated for a split second, unknowing that an arrow was about to hit his heart.  
  
"Oniisan!" Yukina shouted and pushed her brother away from the path of the arrow but was hit by the arrow at the arm. She yelled in pain and fell to the ground.  
  
"Yukina!" Hiei shouted in shock, trying desperately to locate his sister and listen for the sound of any other attacks.  
  
Kurama charged into the bush, "Rose whip!" as a rose turned into a deadly whip. He killed the demons within a few minutes before returning to the twins. His eyes widened as he saw the fire demon held the bleeding koorime in his embrace, obviously shaken to the deepest part of his heart.  
  
"She will be alright, Hiei." Kurama said gently as he loosened the fire demon's embrace around the koorime.  
  
"Hiei, stay inside the temple. I will take care of Yukina." The youko quickly took the koorime inside for treatment.  
  
Without a word, the fire demon searched his way back to his room, his heart tore into hundreds of pieces by the fact that his sister was hurt because of him.  
  
*The nightmare has come true...* he thought as he entered the room, great fear struck him as he remembered how his sister died in his embrace in his nightmare.  
  
He wrapped his arms around his body, trying to stop the shivering. He felt cold, extremely cold. He couldn't bear the thought of risking his sister's life for his weakness, his blindness.  
  
*It is not worth it. Nobody worth getting injured or risking their lives for me, the forbidden child. I am unwanted. I will only bring tears and tragedies to the people around me.* he thought as he went into his room, closing the door behind him.  
  
*I don't deserve anyone's care or love. I don't deserve it... I am just a forbidden child. A child which the world should have gotten rid of a long time ago...* he found himself shivering even more violently. The thought of his sister or friends getting injured or die for him almost make him collapse to the floor.  
  
*I can't let it happen. I won't let it happen...* he thought, decision- made. He opened the window and whispered, "Blackie, I know you can hear me. I need you. Come to me."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
End of Chapter 3  
  
Hope you enjoyed the chapter!  
  
Please feel free to review and comment! 


	4. Chapter 4 : Home

Blindness  
  
By Gozilla  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Thank you to all of you who reviewed and gave me comments on the story! Really happy to read your reviews!! ^-^  
  
In this chapter, there will be some storyline about the koorime tribe and they will be very OOC (and I mean, VERY!)! I apologise in advance for that but please kindly accept the OOCness just for the sake of allowing me to write a more exciting story. Thanks!  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything (except for the cute little Blackie, please don't take it away from me) and I don't have anything. So don't sue me!!  
  
Please excuse my poor English!  
  
Enjoy!  
  
Reviews are welcomed!  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"crap" - conversation  
  
*crap* - thoughts  
  
(crap) - author's note  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Chapter 4 : Home  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~30 minutes later~  
  
~Inside Genkai's temple~  
  
Kurama had finished treating the wound on Yukina's arm. He helped her to lie on a futon before leaving the room, letting her to rest. Kurama walked towards the fire demon's room, thinking of how to comfort the worried brother.  
  
He arrived his room and lightly knocked on the door, "Hiei? I am coming in." Kurama entered the room, finding no trace of his friend.  
  
"Hiei? Where are you?" Kurama raised his voice. No response.  
  
It was then he noticed a note on the table. Kurama frowned as he read the note:  
  
Yukina / Kurama,  
  
I am sorry that I have to leave you like this. Please don't try to  
find me, because you won't.  
  
Yukina, I am so sorry that you got injured because of me. I don't  
deserve to be your brother. Not only that I can't protect you  
anymore, my presence will only bring you great danger. I have to  
leave as I can't let you risk yourself for me. Please forgive and  
forget me.  
  
Kurama, I always wanted to thank you for the friendship you gave me.  
I have caused you too much trouble already. I don't deserve the  
friendship as I can't even defend myself, let alone helping you or the  
others anymore. I am worthless to the team and it is time for me to  
step down. I hope you will find a more valuable partner soon.  
  
Once again, don't try to find me.  
  
Hiei  
  
P.S. - Kurama, I know what you are thinking. Don't worry, I won't  
kill myself. Doing that will only bring more pain to Yukina, she will  
know as we are connected in heart. I will try to stay alive as long  
as I can.  
  
Kurama punched the table in anger, breaking it into a dozen pieces, "Hiei, how can you do this to us..." he murmured as he crumbled the note in his hand.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~Six hour later~  
  
~Somewhere in Makai~  
  
A fire demon tumbled out a portal connected to the Ningenkai, a dragon with black and white strip pattern whirled around his left arm and a black flame dragon danced in the air above the fire demon.  
  
Without his sight ability, Hiei made his way back to Makai with the guide of his reikai beast, Blackie. For reasons unknown to him, he was very weak and he felt exhausted with the six hours trip through the dimension between the Ningenkai and Makai.  
  
With the portal closed behind them and sensing its master's exhaustion, the dragon found a tree hole hidden inside the thick forest and led the fire demon to it, away from any unwanted attention.  
  
Hiei went inside the tree hole, tempted to have a deep sleep. Knowing too well that it would be too dangerous to do so, Hiei decided to just sit and rest.  
  
*Where... to... go?* a message flashed through the fire demon's mind, transmitted from the dragon.  
  
"Where?" Hiei murmured. He just wanted to stay away from the ones he cared, to a place where they couldn't find him. "A place where they can't find me..." he murmured, an idea came to his mind, "Blackie, use the power of the jagan you got from me and take me to the floating Island of the Koorimes. Afterward, you will be free to go."  
  
*I... not... leave you...* another message flashed though Hiei's mind.  
  
"Yes, you will. I want you to leave me once we get to the floating island as I don't deserve to be your master anymore." the fire demon murmured, "You knew that you don't need me since Yukina had injected her power into you, you and your life are pretty much independent of me. You don't need me and I have nothing to give you anymore."  
  
The dragon did not argue. It left its master's arm and landed on top of entrance of the tree hole, guarding the occupant inside it. The fire demon sat and rested, making sure that he would not fall asleep and make himself an easy meal for any demons.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~Three days later~  
  
~Somewhere in Makai~  
  
Strong chilly wind blew across the cliff of a high mountain. Heavy snowfall froze everything visible around the area, except one. A black figure was moving slowly upward along the cliff, despite the hostile weather.  
  
With his hands and feet searching for rocks or cracks on the cliff for a secured hold, Hiei was finding his way to the top of the mountain. Blackie, on the other hand, was flying closely to the fire demon, guiding him towards the top.  
  
After almost falling to his death for several times, Hiei had finally made it to the top. The chilling wind was even stronger, threatening to take away every last drop of warmth inside the fire demon's body.  
  
Hiei fell to his knees, panting heavily and exhausted. His condition had worsened over the past few days. Something was eroding his youki and physical strength away in an alarming rate. There was no sign of recovery of his eyesight. His youki was low and he was very weak, he felt extremely vulnerable wandering around Makai.  
  
The fire demon was struggling to keep himself from falling into sleep when the dragon let out a roar.  
  
*It... here...* a message flashed through the fire demon's mind.  
  
Hiei raised his head and heard a familiar low thunder-like sound. *The Floating Island of the Koorimes...* he thought, *How ironic... I was born there... being cast away from there... and... I will probably die there...* as a gigantic land revealed itself from the thick cloud, about to collide with the top of the mountain.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~30 minutes later~  
  
~On the edge of the floating Island of the Kooirme~  
  
Inside a cave, away from the wind and snow outside, sat Hiei, extremely exhausted.  
  
"You can go now." he murmured, "You are free and you can go anywhere you like."  
  
*I... not... leave you...*  
  
"I told you I have nothing to give you and I am not worthy to be your master." the fire demon yelled as he threw stones at the dragon. The dragon dodged the stones easily. It stayed a safe distance from its master and guarded the open of the cave.  
  
Defeated by the persistence of the dragon, Hiei sighed. Totally wore out, he gave up and slipped into another restless sleep.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~Two hours later~  
  
~Inside a cave on the edge of the floating Island of the Kooirme ~  
  
The fire demon's eyes snapped opened in fear. Total darkness. Another nightmare of his twin sister died in his embrace. *I will go crazy very soon if this goes on...* he thought as he found himself covered in a think layer of sweat.  
  
Suddenly, he sensed the approach of a group of youkais, the koorimes. The dragon groaned dangerously as it sensed the unfriendliness in the youki. Hiei left the cave and faced a group of koorimes, each armed with a staff.  
  
The koorimes had sensed the intrusion of the fire demon to the island. A group of fighters was sent to expel the intruder from the island. They were surprised to see the very pale face of the fire demon.  
  
"Who are you?" asked the leading koorime, "Why are you intruding the island? What do you want?"  
  
"I want nothing from here." the fire demon replied, annoyed, "Just leave me alone."  
  
The leading koorime said, "No matter what kind of reason you have. You have to leave now. We don't accept visitors here, especially a male one." as she held her staff in fighting position.  
  
"Captain Rain, wait," said one of the koorimes, "I think I have seen him before." Her eyes wide-opened as she remembered, "You are Hina's child! You are the one we threw off the cliff 200 years ago!"  
  
Hiei blinked in confusion.  
  
"Rei, what are you talking about?" Rain demanded.  
  
"He is one of the twins Hina gave birth to 200 years ago." Rei answered, "He is Hina's child. He is one of us."  
  
"He is NOT!" Rain yelled angrily, "He is the forbidden child! He has returned to destroy us! We have to destroy him now!" as she swung her staff at the fire demon.  
  
The fire demon barely dodged the attack, using his keen sense of hearing. He found it more and more difficult to avoid the attacks as more koorimes joined in for the fight. "You stupid koorimes! Just leave me alone! Don't force me to hurt you!" he yelled as he dodged another attack with the help of Blackie.  
  
"He can't see!" Rain found out and shouted, "He is blind! Let's get rid of him now!"  
  
"Stop! Please stop!" Rei shouted, trying to stop the attack of one of the koorimes, "He did no harm to us! Please stop!"  
  
Suddenly, an arrow shot out of nowhere and sunk deeply into the arm of one of the koorimes. She fell to her knees and yelled, "Who's that?"  
  
"Finally," came a deep voice, "we have found the floating Island of the Koorimes. This is the biggest treasure we have ever found! We are going to be very rich soon!" as a group of around thirty bird-like demons flying above the koorimes.  
  
"It's the seagull demons." Rain said to the koorime fighters, "They are famous for stealing and ruthless killing. We are in big trouble."  
  
"We will sell these kooirme in the black market and be very rich!!" the leading demon laughly evilly, "You koorimes come with us quietly or prepare to die. I don't mind to kill a few of you as there will be plenty in the village."  
  
"Don't you even think about it!!" Rain yelled as she led the group of koorime fighters to fight against the seagull demons.  
  
The koorimes soon found themselves losing the battle as the seagull demons used their advantages in flying. They attacked from the sky, beyond the reach of the koorimes' attacks, wounding a few koorimes in only a few minutes.  
  
Hiei covered his ears with his hands. The screams of the koorimes reminded him of the painful memories and the screams of his mother let out 200 years ago. *No! He is my son! Please don't kill him! Please!!!* his heart broke as the last words of his mother rang across his mind.  
  
Feeling his head was going to blow up, "Shut up and get down!!" the fire demon yelled as he gathered his remaining youki to his right arm. "Dragon of Black Flame!!" he shouted as he unleashed a large black flame dragon from his arm.  
  
The koorimes were terrified by the black flame dragon and got down to the ground.  
  
Blackie plunged into the black flame dragon, took control over the black flame dragon and wiped out the whole group of the seagull demons in a matter of seconds.  
  
The black flame dragon slowly faded away, leaving the small dragon flying towards its master, who was lying on the snow, unconscious.  
  
One by one, the koorime fighters got up and walked towards the unconscious fire demon. Rain looked at Hiei, her mind struggled with mixed emotions.  
  
The dragon landed on its master's body, growling dangerously at the approaching koorimes, trying to protect its master.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
End of Chapter 4  
  
Hope you enjoyed the chapter!  
  
Please feel free to review and comment! 


	5. Chapter 5 : Race against time

Blindness  
  
By Gozilla  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything (except for the cute little Blackie, please don't take it away from me) and I don't have anything. So don't sue me!!  
  
Please excuse my poor English!  
  
Enjoy!  
  
Reviews are welcomed!  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"crap" - conversation  
  
*crap* - thoughts  
  
(crap) - author's note  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Chapter 5 : Race against time  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~Four hours later~  
  
~Inside Genkai's temple~  
  
Kurama, Kuwabara and Yukina sat quietly inside the living room of the temple, waiting for the return of the warlord and Reikai detective.  
  
It had been five days since the fire demon left them. They couldn't find a trace of him as Hiei had masked his ki. They knew very well that, as one of the former top Makai thieves, no one could find the fire demon if he didn't want to be found.  
  
They sensed two familiar ki approaching from a portal connected to Makai. Knowing the ki belonged to Mukuro and Yusuke, they waited, hoping that the two would bring back some good news.  
  
It wasn't long before Mukuro and Yusuke arrived at the temple, tired and slightly battered.  
  
"Where is Hiei?" Yusuke asked, urgency was shown in his voice.  
  
Kuruma, Yukina and Kawabara looked at each other. "He is gone." Kurama replied hesitantly.  
  
"What?" Yusuke yelled, "We have to find him now! Otherwise... otherwise..."  
  
"Otherwise what?" Kawabara shouted as he grabbed Yusuke's collar.  
  
"Otherwise," Mukuro stepped forward and said without emotion, "Hiei will be in great danger."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~Meanwhile~  
  
~Inside a hut on the floating Island of the Koorime ~  
  
Cracking sound of the burning firewood filled the hut. A fire burning in the fireplace warmed the hut against the chilly wind outside. A small figure lied on a wooden bed, covered by an old ragged blanket.  
  
The small figure tossed and turned on the bed, as if he was having a nightmare. "No!!!" he shouted as he shot up from the bed, his crimson eyes staring at the emptiness in front of him.  
  
The fire demon held his head with his hands, *It's the same nightmare again... I can't let Yukina die because of me... I can't... I am going insane if these nightmares don't stop...*  
  
Someone opened the door and walked inside the hut. "You are awake.", came a female voice.  
  
Caught by surprise, the fire demon grabbed his sword hidden inside his cloak and spun off the bed. He fell to the ground as his limbs were too weak to support him and his youki dangerously low.  
  
"You shouldn't move!" the female voice came again, "You are too weak. Please stay in bed." The fire demon felt someone held his body and put him back to the bed.  
  
Unable to see anything, "Who are you?" the fire demon asked weakly, "Why are you helping me?"  
  
"Child of Hina, I have never expected to meet you again." the female voice sighed, "I am Rei, the one who threw you off the cliff after you were born."  
  
"It's you..." Hiei murmured as he remembered the look of the koorime just before he was abandoned by the tribe and started his fighting life in Makai.  
  
Rei looked at the fire demon, "Child of Hina, it has been a long time since that day. It must be really hard for you to live outside of the island."  
  
"Stop calling me that." the fire demon said, "I have a name. Call me Hiei."  
  
"Hiei..." Rei murmured, "Flying Shadow, the name fits you well. Your speed is incredible. I heard of your name before. You are working for one of the warlords in Makai. I have never imagined Hina's child to be so strong. But how did you get poisoned by such a powerful drug?"  
  
"What poison?" Hiei asked, confused, "What do you mean I am poisoned?"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~Inside Genkai's temple~  
  
"Yes, Hiei is being poisoned." Yusuke said, fury filled his eyes, "We got the information from one of the rebels we managed to capture alive. The assassins were sent to kill Mukuro. The poison was meant to weaken her in case if the assassins fail to kill her so that Hirota can kill her afterwards."  
  
Yusuke said, disgusted, "The poison will erode the physical strength and youki of the victim to his death. It also damages the sight system, rendering its victim blind. But we couldn't get any information on the antidote of the poison."  
  
Yusuke continued, "However, the original plan has failed as Hiei blocked the dagger coated with the poison. Hirota was acknowledged of the failure and fled from the rebel camp just before we arrived."  
  
Yusuke jumped to his feet, "We must find Hiei or he will be meeting that toddler Koenma very soon. Let's gather a few necessities and come back to the temple in two hours. It may take days before we can find him."  
  
"No problem!" Kawabara shouted and left the temple with Yusuke.  
  
*I'd better gather a few useful seeds for the trip...* Kurama thought. He was about to leave the temple as he noticed Mukuro, who was sitting in a corner of the room, deep in thoughts.  
  
Kurama approached the warlord, "Are you alright?"  
  
Mukuro looked up. Kurama was surprised to see confusion filled her usually cold and determined eyes.  
  
"Why?" Mukuro murmured.  
  
"Why what?" Kurama said in confusion.  
  
"Why?" Mukuro looked out of the window, hesitation filled her voice, "Why did he risk his life saving me? It doesn't make sense to me."  
  
"I think you knew the answer." Kurama looked at the Makai warlord, "You knew that he treated you very differently from the others. You are special to him. That's why." He said before walking out of the room, leaving Mukuro alone in the room.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~Inside the hut on the floating Island of the Koorime ~  
  
Rei said, "It is a very rare but strong poison which could only be found in the far west part of Makai. It won't show on the wound. Your blindness and the lost of your physical strength and youki are caused by the poison. Unfortunately we don't know if there is any antidote of the poison. Two of the elders have come to check on you and confirmed that."  
  
"What?" Hiei asked weakly, even more confused, "There is no way the elders would do that. I am the Forbidden Child. They should have killed me instead of helping me. And where are the other koorimes? Aren't they wanted to kill me?"  
  
"You have proved the elders and the legend of the forbidden child wrong." Rei said, smiling, "You have shown mercy to the tribe. You have even saved us from slavery or even death by the seagull demons. Even Captain Rain, who is famous for her toughness, was moved. She has made an order that no one shall do any harm to you while you are on the island."  
  
The fire demon did not argue. He knew very well that although he hated the koorime for abandoning him, deep inside his heart, he didn't want to kill them anymore. But he had never expected such outcome.  
  
*I must be softened by those stupid ningen emotions...* Hiei thought as he struggled to stay awake.  
  
Knowing the fire demon was getting weaker due to the poison, Rei gently put a hand on Hiei's feverish forehead and said softly, "It's alright to rest if you are tired. The elders are trying to find the antidote for you. Just rest now."  
  
Feeling the soft cool hand on his head, Hiei could do nothing but to let himself drifted into sleep, *I hope I will not have that nightmare again...*  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~Two hours later~  
  
~Inside Genkai's temple~  
  
"Let's go!" Yusuke shouted.  
  
The four of them, Yusuke, Kurama, Mukuro and Kawabara, gathered inside the temple and ready to go to Makai.  
  
They were about to leave the temple as Kawabara felt a tug on his shirt.  
  
It was Yukina, "Please take me to Makai with you."  
  
"Yukina-san," Kawabara said gently, "it is very dangerous as we may engage in fighting with Hirota. I think it would be better if you stay in ningenkai."  
  
"But..." the little koorime said, determination shone in her eyes, "I want to help oniisan. He has been protecting me for so long. Now he is in need and I want to help him. Please let me go with you. I promise I will take care of myself."  
  
Understanding the frustration of the koorime, Kurama stepped forward, "I think it may be a good idea to let Yukina-san as she may be able to help us to find Hiei." as he smiled to the little koorime.  
  
Yukina nodded her head towards Kurama with appreciation.  
  
"Well, then." Kawabara said hesitantly, "But where should we start looking for the shrimp? Makai is a thousand times bigger than the Ningenkai."  
  
"I think I know where oniisan is." Yukina said, her eyes shone with confidence, "And I know how to get to the place."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~Three days later~  
  
~Inside the hut on the floating Island of the Koorime ~  
  
Strong chilling wind hit mercilessly at the small hut, making its walls shook.  
  
Despite the freezing temperature outside, the hut was filled with warmth of a fire. A koorime was working on the fire placed in the middle of the hut. Although she was sweating heavily and feeling lightly dizzied due to the high temperature beyond her comfort, she was putting more firewood into the fire.  
  
She placed yet another large firewood into the fire before turning to a small figure lying close to the fire. Gently, she uncovered the old ragged sheet on the small figure.  
  
A small fire demon curled tightly on an old mattress. Although he was lying very closely to the strong fire, he was shivering violently as if he was lying on ice.  
  
The kooirme gently put a hand on the forehand of the fire demon and found it icy cold. *This is bad... He is a fire demon and with body temperature this low means only one thing...*  
  
"Hiei..." she murmured as she gently stroke the soft hair of the fire demon, "Please hang on. We are trying everything to save you. Please don't die on me again..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~Meanwhile~  
  
~Somewhere in Makai, near the Floating Island of the Koorime~  
  
"Are you sure it is the right way?" Yusuke shouted at the top of his voice against the strong chilly wind, fighting his way against the snowstorm.  
  
"Yes, I am sure." Yukina shouted, but only barely audible to the others.  
  
"How long will it take before we get there?" Kurama asked.  
  
"Better be soon! Otherwise I will become an ice status very soon!" Kawabara yelled.  
  
Mukuro followed the group closely. She had been silent all the way from Ningenkai.  
  
Kurama turned and looked at the Makai warlord. He saw confusion still lingered the warlord's eyes. He kept silent and continued walking along the group.  
  
Unaware by the group, a youkai was following them, masking his youki. He let out an evil grin, "That's right, my little girl. Follow the track and take the bait I have prepared for you." he murmured as he disappeared in the snowstorm.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
End of Chapter 5  
  
Hope you enjoyed the chapter!  
  
More actions on the next chapter! Stay tuned!  
  
Please feel free to review and comment! 


	6. Chapter 6 : Hostage

Blindness  
  
By Gozilla  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything (except for the cute little Blackie, please don't take it away from me) and I don't have anything. So don't sue me!!  
  
Please excuse my poor English!  
  
Enjoy!  
  
Reviews are welcomed!  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"crap" - conversation  
  
*crap* - thoughts  
  
(crap) - author's note  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Chapter 6 : Hostage  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~8 hours later~  
  
~On the edge of the Floating Island of the Koorime~  
  
"Are we there yet?" Kawabara asked as he climbed along the cliff of the edge of the floating island, exhausted.  
  
"Yes, Kawabara-san, we are almost there." Yukina replied, "Look! That's the top of the edge! Hurry!" as she climbed faster towards the top.  
  
"You are such a disgrace to men." Yusuke gave Kawabara a dirty look.  
  
"Shut up Urameshi!" Kawabara yelled, sneezing, "I am just exhausted because of the flu I got! I am NOT weak!!"  
  
"Stop yelling and save your energy." Yusuke said as he sped up and reached the top of the edge.  
  
Kurama smiled as he watched two argued. His smile faded away as he sensed the approach of a group of youkais... more precisely, a group of koorime.  
  
Sensing the approach of danger, the group rushed towards the top of the cliff. They were shocked to see Yusuke, being the first one to reach the top, was in the fighting instance, facing a group of armed koorimes.  
  
"Who are you?" shouted the leader of the koorimes, "What do you want? The Island of the Koorime does not welcome visitors! Leave before we force you to!"  
  
Knowing well of Yusuke's short-temper, Kurama stepped between Yusuke and the koorimes, "We come in peace. We are looking for a friend who may got strayed on the island. We will leave as soon as we find him."  
  
"Who is your friend?" the leading koorime asked, "We koorimes do not make friends with outsiders."  
  
Kurama hesitated and thought, *Hiei is the Forebidden Child of the koorime tribe. I don't think it is a good idea to announce that he may be on the island...*  
  
"Yukina?" the leading koorime shouted in surprise, spotting Yukina in the group, "What are you doing with all these outsiders? Don't you dare repeating your mother's mistake!! You are such a disgrace to the tribe!!" she yelled furiously.  
  
"Captain Rain, I..." Yukina could barely manage to said anything before Kawabara stepped forward and yelled, "How dare you insult Yukina-san like that!!"  
  
"You have no rights to speak here, outsider!!" Rain shouted angrily, "You make up some stupid excuses trying to fool us! And now you bring back a disgraceful bastard to the sacred island! You leave NOW or you will all die here!!"  
  
Kurama was trying desperately to say something to smooth the situation. But Yusuke exploded before he could say anything, "What's the point of arguing with these bone heads?" he turned to Yukina, "Yukina, you sure he is here on the island?"  
  
Yukina nodded, "Yes, I am sure. I have a very strong feeling that he is somewhere nearby..." she concentrated in following the invisible 'link' with her twin, "Somewhere in the northeast side of the island."  
  
"Then what are we waiting for?" Yusuke turned around, facing the koorimes, "Let's go and find him and leave this hell of a place as soon as possible!" he said as he ran pass the group of koorimes in lightning speed.  
  
"And nobody insults my Yukina-san will go without a lesson from the great Kazuma-sama!!" Kawabara yelled, released his rei-kan and started fighting with the koorimes.  
  
"Wait Yusuke! Kawabara, no!" Kurama shouted, trying to stop his furious friends. *It is getting all out of control!* he thought as he dodged the attacks from two koorimes.  
  
On the other side, Mukuro blocked the attacks of three other kooirmes, but she showed no intention to counter-attack. Instead, she concentrated in protecting Yukina.  
  
Yukina watched in confusion as the Makai warlord block another attack aimed at her. She looked at Mukuro, "Why are you protecting me?"  
  
Mukuro was a bit surprised by the questions. She thought while dodging an attack, "I am not sure. I just do whatever Hiei would do if he's here."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~Meanwhile~  
  
~On the northeast side of the Floating Island of the Koorime~  
  
Yusuke threw another punch at his attacker. The koorime blocked the punch with her staff but the residual force of the punch sent her flying dozen of meters away.  
  
"Where the hell are you, Hiei?" Yusuke murmured as he surveyed the area. He then noticed a small hut hidden behind a gigantic rock, "You'd better be there. I am tired of fighting women."  
  
Yusuke rushed towards the hut. He stopped as a shadow came between him and the hut.  
  
"You shall not go near the hut!" Rain stood in front of the hut, holding her staff, "The person inside is important. I will not allow you to go near him!"  
  
"Really?" Yusuke eyed the koorime with a cunning smile, "Then I must find out who is inside." he said as he charged towards Rain and the two engaged in fierce fighting.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~Meanwhile~  
  
~Inside the hut~  
  
Rei looked at the door, worried, "What is going on out there?"  
  
She was very tempted to go outside and check out. However, she didn't want to leave her patient alone, especially with his worsened condition.  
  
The fire demon had been unconscious for the past few days. He was having a high fever but his hands and feet were icy cold. Rei had tried everything to help the fire demon but no avail. The koorime elders were clueless about the antidote of the poison.  
  
Suddenly, the fire demon shivered violently. Rei rushed to hold him. Then she heard a weak mumbling from the fire demon, "Yukina... Mukuro..."  
  
To her amusement, the fire demon slowly opened his eyes. Instead of his usual bright crimson red eyes, they were dull and clouded.  
  
"Got to help them..." he said as he tried to get up, only to fall back as his limbs were too weak to support him.  
  
"Stay down, Hiei." Rei said in concern, "You should not move. Your body is too weak."  
  
"I can't let them fight alone." the fire demon argued weakly.  
  
"Listen to the lady, fire boy." came a sneaky deep voice.  
  
"Who's there? Show yourself!" Rei demanded. She looked at the origin of the voice, only to see the shadow of a dark corner.  
  
Sensing danger, Hiei used all his strength and stood up, holding his sword tightly in his hand. He listened very carefully for the faintest sound of movement.  
  
A dark figure slowly walked out of the shadow, "Little fire boy, follow my orders and I may consider sparing your pity life." he said dangerously, an evil grin spread on his face.  
  
"In your dreams." Hiei said as he unsheathed his sword.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~Meanwhile~  
  
~Outside the hut~  
  
Yusuke and Rain were still fighting when the others arrived the scene, with a group of koorime fighters following behind.  
  
"Urameshi!" Kurama shouted as he blocked an attack from a koorime.  
  
Mukuro was carrying Yukina in her arms when she noticed something, "What is it, Yukina?"  
  
"Oniisan..." Yukina said in a fearful voice, "Oniisan is in the hut." as she pointed at the hut.  
  
"What?" Kurama concentrated and tried to find his best friend's ki. He could only find a faint trace of it.  
  
All of a sudden, the fire demon's ki rose, along with another unknown ki. But then Hiei's ki dropped dramatically with a clear 'cling' sound. The unknown ki continued to skyrocket to a S-class demon's level.  
  
All people, including Yusuke and Rain, stopped fighting and looked at the hut in confusion and shock.  
  
Mukuro rushed to the hut and opened the door. Her eyes wide-opened as she saw what was happening inside the hut.  
  
Hiei's sword was on the floor.  
  
Rei lied on the floor, unconscious.  
  
A tall, muscular demon stood in the middle of the hut, an evil smile on his face. His right arm extended, holding a figure in mid-air.  
  
Hiei, on the other hand, was struggling against the demon's hand on his neck.  
  
"Finally," the tall demon turned and looked at Mukuro, "we meet again, my dear half-faced lady."  
  
"Let him go, Hirota." Mukuro said dangerously, setting down Yukina, "He has nothing to do with this."  
  
"Oh," Hirota teased, "my dear lady must have gone soft over all these years. You would have strike and kill this little fire boy in order to get him out of the way, instead of trying to spare his life."  
  
"I am warning you, Hirota." Mukuro said, her heart ached as she saw the fire demon started choking, "Let. Him. Go."  
  
"Ignore me." Hiei said weakly, "Strike him down."  
  
Hirota tightened his grip around the fire demon's neck, "Shut up, fire boy. You have not rights to speak here."  
  
Hiei found it almost impossible to breathe. He felt blood rolling at the top of his throat and saw stars dancing in front of his eyes.  
  
"Stop that!" Mukuro yelled, "What do you want?"  
  
"My dear lady," Hirota's evil smile widened, "you are as smart as ever. You know what I want. You always do."  
  
Silence.  
  
Yukina looked at her brother with her tearful eyes before turning to the Makai warlord, "What is it? What does he want?"  
  
"My life." Mukuro murmured.  
  
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End of Chapter 6  
  
Hope you enjoyed the chapter! The last chapter is coming. So stay tuned!  
  
Please feel free to review and comment! 


	7. Chapter 7 : Dream

Blindness  
  
By Gozilla  
  
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Disclaimer: I don't own anything (except for the cute little Blackie, please don't take it away from me) and I don't have anything. So don't sue me!!  
  
Please excuse my poor English!  
  
Enjoy!  
  
Reviews are welcomed!  
  
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"crap" - conversation  
  
*crap* - thoughts  
  
(crap) - author's note  
  
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Chapter 7 : Dream  
  
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"What?" Yukina said in shock.  
  
"Yes, your life." Hirota said in victory, "You are always the one on my way to the peak of power. Now that damned fighting madman is dead..."  
  
Yusuke shouted angrily, "Who are you to call my father a fighting madman??!!" as Kurama and Kawabara sweat-dropped and struggled hard to stop him from attacking Hirota.  
  
Hirota ignored Yusuke and continued, "... The blinded thief is no threat to me as he has dismissed his guards. Partly thanks to Youko Kurama." as he looked at Kurama.  
  
"I never thought I was doing a favour to a person like you." Kurama said coldly, "If only I knew, I would seriously re-consider my plan."  
  
Hirota laughed, "You are the only one left who can stop me. That's why you must die. I was planning to use the poison to weaken you so that I can kill you. I didn't expect this fire boy would get in the way. I thought the whole plan was ruined."  
  
Hirota continued, "But I was lucky to received intelligence that you are looking for the fire boy. Then I knew my dear lady has a weakness and I decided to make good use of this weakness."  
  
"I am not her weakness." Hiei struggled to murmur the words.  
  
Hirota laughed evilly, further tightening his grip on the fire demon's neck, "No matter if you admit or not. She will die because of you. Now, my dear lady. Would you do it yourself or I should take the pleasure of killing you myself?"  
  
"Don't even think about laying a finger on me." Mukuro asked deeply. Hesitantly, she put her hand on her chest, right in front of her heart, *Goodbye, Hiei. I don't know why I am doing this. I just don't want you to die. I would do anything to save you. I just want to know that you will live...* she thought as she formed a ki ball with her hand.  
  
*No!! I won't allow this!!* Hiei screamed in his mind. He couldn't say a single word as he was suffocating from the iron grip of the shadow demon. He gathered every single drop of youki he had, silently calling upon the dragon of black flame.  
  
"What?" Hirota sensed the rising of the fire demon's ki and stopped laughing, *It can't be. But how? The poison should have eroded most of his ki. He should be at the edge of his death by now.*  
  
Mukuro also stopped in shock, "Hiei! No! Don't do that! You are too weak to do that!" she shouted  
  
*I won't let you die!!* his mind screamed as he released all his remaining youki as a bait to the dragon of black flame.  
  
"What?" Hirota shouted in fear as the earth beneath him suddenly crack opened and a gigantic black flame dragon emerged from the opening, swallowing Hirota and Hiei with its huge flaming mouth. The heat of the dragon burnt the hut into ashes in a matter of seconds.  
  
"Hiei!!!" Mukuro shouted as she charged towards the dragon and force opened its mouth.  
  
The dragon struggled violently, trying to shake off the Makai warlord from its mouth.  
  
"Reigun!!!" Yusuke shot a gigantic ki ball and hit directly at the dragon. Without the powerful youki of the fire demon to support it, the black flame dragon started to collapse and two figures fell from its disassembling body.  
  
The group rushed towards the two bodies. They inhaled deeply as they found two badly burnt demons lying on the ground. Mukuro gently lifted the unconscious fire demon, who was slightly smoking.  
  
"I don't get it." Yusuke asked, poking the unconscious Hirota, "I knew that the Makai black flame is hotter than any fire in the Ningenkai. So I am not surprised that Hirota got all burnt up. But why is Hiei hurt as well? He used to be able to absorb the black flame dragon without any physical damage."  
  
"Because he is too weak to withstand the heat." Kurama said as he looked sadly at his unconscious best friend, "He used all his youki as a bait to the dragon, leaving none to protect himself. Now... he is... dying..."  
  
"Oniisan must not die." Yukina said. She held one of Hiei's hands and said to Mukuro, "Please let me try to heal oniisan."  
  
Mukuro nodded and put the fire demon on the ground. Yukina concentrated and put her hands on Hiei's body. Bright blue light started to glow beneath her hands.  
  
After a few moments, a few of the burnt on the fire demon's body began to heal, but most of the wounds remained. Yukina collapsed to the ground, exhausted, "I... I am so useless. I don't have enough youki to heal all of the wounds. What should I do?"  
  
Silence fell as the group failed to find any other practical ways to save their friend.  
  
Suddenly, a female voice came, "I think we can help."  
  
The group turned and looked for the origin of the voice. There was no one but the group of koorime fighters.  
  
Kawabara eyed the group with suspicion, "I thought you koorimes swore to kill the Forbidden Child since his birth. Why do you want to help him?"  
  
"Because he saved us once from a group of killer seagull demons." Rain stepped forward and said, "He proved himself to be harmless to the koorime tribe. And we want to repay him."  
  
"Captain Rain..." Yukina said, her eyes filled with appreciation.  
  
"Sorry, Yukina." Rain replied, her eyes softened, "I didn't know you are bringing them to save the boy. But I hope that you still remember what we have taught you and that you won't repeat your mother's mistake."  
  
Yukina lowered her head, not saying anything.  
  
Kawabara was about to explode and Kurama stopped him by covering his mouth in time.  
  
"This is not a good time to argue about this topic." Kurama murmured to Kawabara. Kawabara swallowed every word he was about to say back to his stomach, though still eyeing the koorimes angrily.  
  
Rain approached the fire demon and held out a hand on top of his badly burnt body. The other kooirmes followed formed a circle. Bright blue light started glowing at their palms and a cloud of light surrounded the fire demon.  
  
The group watched in amazement as the wounds on Hiei's body slowly mended like magic. A few minutes later, all the wounds were healed and the koorimes retrieved their hands. Some of them turned to Rei and started healing her.  
  
Kurama inspected his friend, who was still unconscious. Puzzled, he asked Rain, "Why is he still unconscious?"  
  
Rain replied, "We koorime can only heal physical wounds and damages. However, we can't clear the poison inside his body. We must get the antidote or he will die in the next few days."  
  
Yusuke rushed to the unconscious Hirota, slapping him, "Wake up you half roasted pig! Give me the antidote or I will make sure you become a well- done pork chop!"  
  
Hirota slowly came back to consciousness. He smiled evilly, "There is no antidote on the poison. I had not intention to let Mukuro to stay alive in the first place."  
  
Yusuke hit Hirota hard on the head, who fainted again, "Then what shall we do?"  
  
"I have an idea." Mukuro said calmly.  
  
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In a dark forest, where gigantic trees stood hundreds of feet tall, sound of a child's crying echoed across the area.  
  
In a corner of the forest, there was ancient tree. The sound of crying came from a tree hole at the bottom of the ancient tree.  
  
Inside the tree hole, a child sat in the deepest part of the dark hole, curled tightly as a ball and crying sadly. The child had black flame-like hair with a strip of white hair forming the shape of a half-star near his forehead. He was dressed all black with a white scarf around his neck.  
  
There was no other sound except for the child's cry.  
  
Suddenly, a girl's voice came from the opening of the tree hole, "Why are you crying?"  
  
The child stopped crying and looked up. He saw a girl with brown hair and dressed in a soft white dress looking at him.  
  
"I don't know where am I." the child replied, "I am lonely and scared."  
  
"You are not alone and you don't have to scared." the girl said softly. She held out a hand towards the child, smiling, "We are here for you. Please come out."  
  
"But..." the child hesitated, fear of the world outside.  
  
"It's OK." came the voice of another girl. A girl with green-blue hair and dressed in a kimono appeared beside the brown-haired girl, also smiling, "You will be fine. Please trust us." as she held out her hand towards the child.  
  
For some reason, his heart filled with an unfamiliar feeling... warmth. Slowly, he reached his hands to the outstretching hands of the two girls.  
  
Gently, the two girls pulled the child out of the deep, dark tree hole. The child closed his eyes as they met the strong sunlight...  
  
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Hiei slowly opened his eyes. Still, he could see nothing, but it was not total darkness anymore. There was a dull light dancing in front of his eyes. He could feel that there was a fire burning in front of him, sending the must needed warmth to his body. He felt so weak that he didn't even want to move a finger.  
  
Then he realised that he was half-sitting and leaning on something... something soft and warm. He tried to get up but there was no energy left for him to move.  
  
Suddenly, a deep female voice came from behind, "You awake?"  
  
"Hn." the fire demon blushed heavily as he realised that he was leaning on the Makai warlord. He struggled harder, trying to get away from such close contact with Mukuro, but only resulted in falling to the side.  
  
"Just stay and relax." Mukuro gently pull the fire demon back to her embrace, her arms circled around his body, "I am transferring my youki to you so that you can stay alive and fight the poison inside your body. You will recover and your eye sight will be restored in a week or two."  
  
"What?" Hiei asked weakly in shock, "Stop it right now. Transferring your youki to me will make you vulnerable. You may die if someone attack you now."  
  
Mukuro smiled warmly, "Don't worry. Your Ningenkai friends are guarding us outside of the hut. They will fend off anyone who try to come near the hut."  
  
Without any choice, Hiei relaxed and rested in Mukuro's warm embrace. Only by then he noticed that someone was holding his hand. Sensing the youki of the owner of the hand, he found that it was his twin sister, who seemed to be sleeping peacefully beside him.  
  
"She tried to transfer her youki to you too." Mukuro said, "But she was exhausted healing your wounds and she fell asleep."  
  
The two were quiet for a few moment before the fire demon broke the silence, "But why wasting your precious youki on me? You can always find a better warrior with ease."  
  
Mukuro thought for a while, "Do you remember that I asked you a similar question after you blocked the poisonous dagger aimed at me?"  
  
"Hn."  
  
Mukuro looked at the fire, emotions flashed across her usually calm eyes, "I will give you the same answer you gave me. I don't know. I just don't want you to leave me. That's all."  
  
"Hn." was the response from the fire demon. Hiei felt his heart filled with a strange feeling of warmth, the very same feeling he had in his dream. The comfortable feeling and his weak body dragged him to the first peaceful sleep for weeks.  
  
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The happy laughs of the children filled the once lonely dark forest.  
  
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The End  
  
Thank you sooooo much for your patience to read the whole fic. This is the longest fic I have ever written. I have encountered the most evil writer's block with this fic and I have almost given up. (FYI, I always try to have a complete draft of the fic before posting it to the net. I don't want to give my precious readers an incomplete piece of work. ^-^)  
  
I guess some of you may be confused with the part of the "dark forest" and the "children". I want to try something new here by describing the spiritual / mental connection between Hiei, Yukina and Mukuro in a more "imaginary" way. I know I did a lousy job on this...  
  
Anyway, I am sooo glad that I finished the fic. I hope it is not just a mess of rubbish.  
  
Hope you enjoyed the story!  
  
Please feel free to review and comment on the story!! ^-^  
  
Ja ne! 


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